McCann Tech Boys Score Early, Hold on at St. Joe
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- McCann Tech's boys soccer team got off to a quick start on Monday when Steven Lemire scored in the second minute of the game against St. Joseph at Clapp Park.
The way keeper Shaun Parzick and the Crusaders have been playing defense, that was all the Hornets were going to get.
The way Chris Gajda and McCann Tech have been playing, that was all the scoring they were going to need.
Gajda stopped three shots, and the Hornets earned their fifth shutout in their last five outings to beat St. Joe, 1-0, and move within one win of a berth in the Western Massachusetts Division 4 tournament.
McCann is outscoring opponents 11-1 over its last six, a stretch in which it has gone 5-1 since losing, 6-1 at Westfield Voc on Sept. 25.
"Since then, we haven't been letting many in," McCann coach Tom Bona said. "We had to do some work on 'D,' and we did. I'm a defensive minded coach anyway."
Bona said he made some adjustments in where he plays people after the Westfield game, but mostly it was a redidication to defense that has paid dividends for McCann Tech (9-4 8-4) after it allowed more than two goals in a game for the only time this year and slipped to 4-3.
"We did a lot of suicides after we let in the six goals, so I think now they understand what I mean by defense," Bona said.
McCann's offense came in the game's opening minutes when Shane Fuller sent the ball up the right wing for Lemire. The sophomore struck for his second goal of the season to give the Hornets the early advantage.
The rest of the first half featured back-and-forth play with a number of dangerous chances for the Crusaders (1-10-3), who came into the game off back-to-back 0-0 ties against Hoosac Valley and Mohawk.
Perhaps St. Joe's best chance for the equalizer came in the 12th minute of the first half on a try by Steve Feathers, who put a shot on goal that Gajda was able to deny.
At the other end, Parzick continued the strong goal play that he has exhibited all fall for the Crusaders.
In the 34th minute, McCann's Damon Couture sent a cross into the 18 that a pair of St. Joe defenders could not handle. The Hornets' leading scorer, Fuller, nearly had a touch inside the 6, but Parzick alertly handled the blal in front of the McCann senior striker.
McCann's best chances to add an insurance goal came in the second half, when the tide turned decidedly in the Hornets' favor. Freshman Cody Jordan had a dangerous 1-on-1 chance with Parzick from the middle of the 18 that the St. Joe keeper denied with a sliding stop.
Later, Fuller took a shot from deep on the right wing. Parzick made the save and then denied Fuller again when he followed his own rebound.
In general, McCann carried the play after half-time, but it was a much different game than the Hornets' 5-2 win over St. Joe back on Sept. 10.
"We've definitely come a long way since the start of the season," St. Joe coach Rick Kovacs said. "It's good timing at the end of the year. We've got some good games at the end of the year here, and we're really playing well."
St. Joe hosts Lee on Wednesady before traveling to North Adams to face Drury on Friday.
McCann is back in action on Tuesday at home against Franklin Tech, a team it beat 10-0 in their first meeting, and finishes a busy week on Friday at Pathfinder.